


Spares and Subterfuge

by yendys



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Intrigue, Light Angst, Pre-Canon, Slow Burn, like the slowest of slow
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-27
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-09-20 06:44:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9479864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yendys/pseuds/yendys
Summary: Lieutenant Corrine Tarkin, second born child of the great House Tarkin, expects being personal aide for General Armitage Hux to be filing reports and working around scheduling conflicts more than anything.  But when the General offers her a task on a dangerous, alien planet, she’s eager to prove she’s capable of greater things.  Corrine had spent her entire life living up to expectations set by her family, and this was her chance to prove that she’s more than just the spare.Note: Rated M for language and depictions of violence.  I could probably rate this T, but I made it M just in case.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I know there are a few fics about Hux and a relationship with a secretary-like person, and I've only seen one or two about Hux and a Tarkin descendant, but this is my personal take on one of those.
> 
> (This is here because I don't understand how notes work ╮(─▽─)╭)--I've written fics for myself over the years, but this is my first time actually posting one, quite possibly stemmed from my excitement for Episode VIII. Obviously, it's canon-divergence, but I'll be pretty much sticking with canon and including some things from the legends. Some stuff I've had to make up and sort of guess about-but it's called fanfiction for a reason-and there are a few bits that will be inspired from various headcanons I've seen (ex: Sniper!Hux and TarkinFanboy!Hux).
> 
> Also, if anyone is interested in being a beta reader or maybe just wants to exchange headcanons and stuff, hit me up! Thanks for reading!

It was late.  Beyond late even.  Her shift had ended hours ago, and yet, here she was, sweating away in the recreation rooms when she should have been getting what little sleep she could.  For years, she had used one playlist filled with soothing, classical music to help lull her to sleep, but ever since being assigned to the Finalizer, her go-to remedy had been failing her.

Corrine Tarkin, a lieutenant fresh out of the Academy, had many things running through her head.  Her top of the class marks landed her the highly desired position of being the recently promoted General Hux’s aide.  A coveted job, but high stress.  Her family’s name set high expectations everywhere she went—a blessing and a curse, it was—and the General expected a lot from her.  The fact that war was looming between the First Order and the New Republic didn’t help things either.  Her mind was racing with things a new officer didn’t need to worry about just yet, but that didn’t stop her from beating the training droid just to the point before it was beyond repair.

She spun her staff quickly, blocking the droid’s advances and countered at just the right moment to send her opponent’s weapon flying into the air.  Jabbing her staff in three different joints swiftly, the droid was brought to its knees in defeat.

“You have successfully won again, Lieutenant Tarkin,” the PROXY droid said, shedding its holographic appearance.  “Would you like a performance update?”

“Yes, am I leaving my right open?” she huffed out.

“Your tendency to favor your left prevails,” it replied.

Corrine glared at the droid.  She had been trying to fix her stance for the past two hours.  “If I keep doing it, why aren’t you hitting me there?”

“I am not fast enough to land an attack, Lieutenant,” it replied as if that was obvious.  “Your agility and flexibility allow you to overcome this weakness, but against a faster opponent they may not.”

Working out in the recreation rooms were supposed to relieve her frustrations not agitate them more.

“Would you like to go another round, Lieutenant?”

“Yes,” she replied immediately.  “And try to be faster this time.”

Collecting a new polearm from the nearby rack, the PROXY droid quickly shifted into a new opponent—a gruff looking man with a multitude of scars.

He moved first, lunging at her with a speed she hadn’t seen the droid utilize before.  Corrine blocked its first strike, then the second as her swung back around again.  Moving to kick it in the chest as it recovered, she was blocked too.  The droid had claimed it wasn’t fast enough.  Corrine had no idea where this sudden burst came from.  It matched her blow for blow, and she struggled to keep up.  At one point, her staff was knocked out of her hand and she was kicked to the ground.  There was barely enough time to roll out of the way before the staff came flying down at her head.  A harsh smack landed where she just was.

“Use your strengths, Lieutenant,” the droid reminded her as she dodged another strike.

“Excuse me for being caught off guard by a lying droid.”  She could have sworn she heard it laugh. 

By some stroke of luck, she caught the pole before it smashed into her face.  While they struggled for control of it, she swung her legs and swept its outwards, making the droid lose its balance and release the staff.  She rolled back and used her momentum to kick up to her feet and immediately pursued it.  Alternating which side she hit it on and backing it into the corner, it looked as if she had won again.  She spun the pole up above her heard to pick up speed and just before she struck the final blow, a hard foot landed in the right side of her rib cage.

Corrine fell to the ground with the wind knocked out of her.  The droid reached down to choke her.  She knew if it held long enough, the simulation would end, signaling her loss.

She didn’t like losing.

Crossing her arms, she gripped its wrists and placed her feet onto its hips.  She pushed back, preventing it from further choking her and slipped out of its hold.  Rolling off to the side, she picked the staff back up, and using her speed, she landed three quick strikes across its head, defeating her opponent and winning the fight.

“Congratulations, Lieutenant Tarkin, you have successfully won again.”

“But was it better?” she asked without even lowering her weapon.

“Aside from when I knocked you over, yes, it was much better,” the droid stated, now back in its regular appearance.  “But, as you can see, your agility and flexibility managed to bail you out.”

Corrine stuck the staff to the ground, placing her other hand on her hip.  She panted, catching her breath from the exercise and shaking her sweaty bangs off of her forehead.  She was completely spent, but in a good way.

“Thought you said you weren’t fast enough to take advantage of that.  You caught me off guard in the beginning.”

“My default settings can be adjusted to match skill level,” the droid replied.  “Yours is most impressive.”  A smug look crossed her face.  “And good enough to gain an audience.”

Corrine spun around to see who had stopped to watch her, only to have her smile wiped quickly off her face.

“General, sir.”  She saluted her commanding officer, dropping her staff in the process.  “I hadn’t realized you were there.”

“And I hadn’t realized my assistant would be up this late.”  The corner of his mouth twitched, but whether he was pleased or annoyed, she hadn’t a clue.  “At ease, Lieutenant, we’re just in the rec center.”

She relaxed her posture, but still felt tense.  There was something odd about seeing her boss out of uniform.  She had only seen the General in his official attire, in what the First Order’s military leaders should look like.

Of course, he had been at her grandfather’s most recent birthday and her simultaneous graduation celebration.

And a multitude of other galas before that.

Perhaps it was just odd to see him in something not so formal, and for her to be seen dripping in sweat.

“I knew you were a good shot, but I had no idea you were so skilled in close combat.”  He leaned casually against the corner of the sparring ring.

Corrine bent to pick up her discarded staff.  “It’s more of a hobby, sir, and it helps me sleep.”

“Building up adrenaline helps you sleep?”  He cocked an eyebrow at her.

“More like tires out a restless mind,” she corrected.

The General stared at her, an unreadable look on his face.  She felt a bit scrutinized under his gaze.  Corrine had been working for General Hux for nearly three months now.  At times, she felt as if she was getting to understand him, but in moments like this—when they weren’t working—she didn’t know what to make of him.  He caught her off guard, and she wasn’t a fan of it.

She had known him before she was an officer of the First Order.  He had been at parties thrown to reunite ‘Old Empire Families’—which had just been meetings to create the Order in disguise.  Even more recently, she had been under his command a handful of times during field exercises the Academy had sent her on, when he was just another officer still making a name for himself.  Sometimes, she wondered if that’s why he picked her as his personal assistant, because he—sort of—knew her.

“Sir, did you need something?” she asked, unnerved by the silence.  She heard the PROXY droid excuse itself in the background.

“As a matter of fact, I did, Lieutenant.”  He left his casual position to resume parade rest, and she too felt her back straighten.  “I had intended to wait till morning, but seeing as you’re here now, I might as well go ahead.”

The General took in a steady breath.  Corrine could tell he was resisting the urge to pace.  She had commented on how he paced so much once, and he’s been trying to prove her wrong ever since.

“As you know already, in the coming few months, there are to be numerous meetings between the First Order and different planets to negotiate trade deals and declare allegiances.  There are a handful that I, personally, must attend, but only one is particularly worrisome.”

When the General said ‘I’, she knew he really meant ‘we’.  Corrine was to go everywhere General Hux went, as per her post.

“I assure you, General, I will do whatever is needed of me without hesitation,” she replied confidently.  “May I ask why this one is more troubling than the others?  Last I checked, the list was comprised of Empire aligned planets.”

That time, he actually gave in and started pacing.

“You are familiar with Umbara, yes?”  She nodded in agreement.  “Then you know that it’s people are as treacherous as it’s environment.  It happens to be our newest addition to the list.”

The Umbarans were well-known for their seclusion, something heavily caused by their enormous caste system.  Corrine only knew of them through her galactic geography lessons and from occasionally coming across them in what she read in for her studies.  She had never met one in person.

“Sir, I’m not afraid of what they can do,” she told him.  Umbarans were said to be gifted with mental manipulation.  Matched with their dark and sadistic personalities, they were unpleasant company no matter the situation.

“It’s not a matter of the what they can do to you, Lieutenant, it’s what they can do _with_ you.”  Her cheeks burned at his remark.  She hadn’t meant to sound so careless.

The General continued explaining how deceit and treachery were bred into Umbarans, particularly the higher classes, repeating things she already knew.  The lower castes wanted to be the upper castes and the upper castes didn’t like relinquishing power.  Undermining one’s rival was a Umbaran pastime, and something Corrine, herself, was familiar with—but on a less murderous scale.

“Not an ounce in me trusts the Umbarans,” he said, finishing the lecture and his pacing at the same time.  “I have no doubt they will try to undermine us.  There sudden desire to join the First Order is suspicious to say the least.”

She understood what he meant.  The Umbarans had fled back to the Ghost Nebula after the fall of the Empire and rarely left it.  Their government had been silent until now.

“What do you require of me then, sir?”

“You were top of your class at the Academy, but you excelled remarkably well in intel and reconnaissance.  You not being by side will look suspicious, but I can’t risk them gaining an upper hand on us.  They are most certainly hiding something.””

“Are you asking me to spy on them?”

“Yes and no.”

Corrine furrowed her brow, thoroughly confused.  It was true, she was quite good at surveillance operations, having learned it’s benefits at a young age, but she hadn’t been in the field for something like this in quite a while.

“I need you to find out what you can about them while we’re there.  Do whatever it takes, I don’t care what it entails.”

Hux stared at her hard.  With his hands behind his back and jaw clenched hard, he looked very commanding.  It was easy to see how he had obtained his position at such a young age.

She waited for him to continue with more details, but realized in his silence that _he_ was the one waiting.  The General might be her commanding officer, but this wasn’t a just command.  He needed to know if she would accept this task.

No, not task.  Test.

But a test for what?  To see if she could handle such duties, to see where she could be used in the future, to see if she was as good as she was made out to be?  It could be any multitude of things, good and bad, and her role in the Order was dependent on it.  It would be a challenge, of that there was no doubt.  She’s out of practice, her skills rusty from disuse, but her keen sense for intrigue and sharp eye for subterfuge had always been there.  It would be difficult, but that’s what made it interesting.  She’d take spying on dangerous aliens over filing reports for the General any day.

“I’ll see to it that it’s done, sir,” she replied with confidence.

The General smiled at her, a bit wicked but definitely pleased.  She had seen him smile only on a handful of occasions, but when she got the job done, Corrine would see him do it again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty, this took way too long to write for how short it is. I'm not super happy with how this chapter went or how short it is, but I've been sitting on it for long enough. In case you couldn't tell, this is all taking place before Episode VIII--forgot to mention that in the first chapter. Enjoy!

In the following weeks, Corrine spent every spare moment being trained and briefed.  There was a lot to prepare for.  Her work-load was doubled, her free-time was gone, and she was so spent from her full load, that Corrine rarely went to the recreation rooms late at night.

In fact, she found herself missing the company of that PROXY droid.

“Lieutenant?” an impatient voiced addressed her.

Immediately, her back went rigid, realizing she had zoned out.  After a morning training session, she had stayed late to work in General Hux’s office.  It was a tough session, filled with disarming various kinds of security systems and the delicate art of persuasion.  She was brain dead, a rather unideal state to be in when preparing documents for the ambassadors from Barnaba.

“Forgive, me sir.  Did you need something?”  She looked over at her superior officer, who was frowning at her most displeased.

“I had only asked how your training went today,” he said after a moment.

She relaxed a bit into her chair, thankful it hadn’t been something more important.  “There was a lot covered today.  Major Harave knows quite a bit.”

All of her sessions were led by Major Thessa Harave of the Security Bureau.  Her lessons ranged from training simulations to actual lectures.  It was like she was back at the Academy—being taught by a hardass with little room for failure.  Harave didn’t care if she was top of her class, and even less what her name was.  Part of Corrine liked that, but part of her hated it.  Harave liked to assume she was an incompetent, know-it-all, fledgling of an officer.

Corrine _did_ know everything, but she certainly wasn’t incompetent.

“Major Harave has been helping the Order since the fall of the Empire.  I would hope she does.”

Corrine hummed in approval and returned—more attentively—to her terminal.  The phrasing of these documents had to be perfect, any slip ups could allow the Barnaban ambassadors more room for negotiations.

Being among the first to denounce the Empire, the Tapani Sector was not at the top of the First Order’s list of potential allies.  However, House Barnaba had been quite determined to join.  High Lady Varin Arabella had stepped down, and her young and ambitious son, Koval, was tired of Barnaba’s hedonistic lifestyle and the “ridiculous democracy” of the Great Council.  He claimed to have created a secret coalition of four of the seven Nobel Houses of the Tapani Sector, and with help from the First Order, they would over throw the Prime Minister and abandon the New Republic for the Empire’s successor.

However, Corrine had the misfortune of personally knowing Koval Arabella.  He was cunning, conniving, and a bit of a megalomaniac.  Yet, when it came to taking hints, he was clueless.  He had suggested an alliance between the two of them on more than one occasion where negotiations began in his bedroom.  She turned him down each time, making it glaringly obvious of her disinterest, but still, he persisted.  Hopefully, he would not be at this Summit.

“Is it any more difficult than your Academy training?” he continued the conversation.

_What is this?  Small talk?_   She quickly glanced over to the General.  He didn’t have casual chats, everything was strictly business.

“Perhaps a bit, more focused and in depth, though,” she replied going with whatever this was.  Her classes in officer training were always broad.  They taught a wide variety of things to prepare everyone to do everything.  It wasn’t until you were actually placed post-graduation that your skills were more finetuned.

“I remember my time at the Academy being very competitive.  I’m sure you never had to worry about that, Lieutenant, seeing as you outshone even the best of your peers.”

Corrine might not have worried about competing with her classmates, however, she had spent her life competing with one person.

Her entire childhood was lived in the shadow of her older brother, Carsten.  Being the second born to her family, she was labeled the spare quickly.  Her father, Governor Luitger Tarkin, expected her to do nothing more than marry into another influential family with Imperial blood and spread the Tarkin’s influence.  Even though she did everything her brother did— _surpassed_ him in everything he did—she was always just a pawn in his political games and second best to the brother she despised.  Her high praises were never heard, her genius mind never noticed, her strives for perfection never acknowledged.  As a result, anything Carsten did Corrine had to do better no matter who was watching.

Every score she earned, every record she set, every award she got was achieved out of spite.  She gave up looking for her father’s approval long ago.  If he couldn’t recognize her greatness, she ensured everyone else would.

“I made certain my record could never be beat.  Last I checked, it still hadn’t.”  The General had been telling a story in the background, and she hadn’t even paid attention, too absorbed in her memories to listen.

“I remember someone lamenting about that,” she added, quickly recovering.  “The sniper course was always the most difficult no matter the skill level.”

The General had been holding the record for the sniper simulations since his early Academy years.  Corrine herself had tried to beat it to no avail.  Having second place was unideal, but it was better than her brother’s.  That’s what really mattered.

“At times, I miss having that rifle in my hands,” he said, an almost nostalgic look in his eyes.

“Every leader make sacrifices, sir,” she replied.

And instantly regretted it.  She had meant it as a joke, but was her sarcasm too casual for speaking with her superior?

The General blinked at her once, then broke into an amused smile.

“I suppose we do, Lieutenant,” was all he said.  “And what sacrifices have you made to work for the First Order?”

_This is very much small talk_.  She thought to herself, unsure if it was a good or bad thing.

“Nothing that would interest you, sir,” she replied honestly.

“You mean like the glamour of living in Galactic City or the people fawning over you on Eriadu?”  Now he was the one making jokes, a glint in his sharp eyes.

“I’m not sure you’d like my response, sir,” she said, keeping her eyes glued on the document she pretended to analyze.

“Saying you liked the Republic lifestyle doesn’t incriminate you, it that’s what you’re worried about,” he continued.  “Speak your mind, Lady Tarkin.  Surely you have something running through it?”

She nearly choked at that.  With wide eyes, Corrine stared at him.  No one called her _Lady Tarkin_ outside formal events, and it certainly wasn’t used in the First Order.

“What is it?  Don’t like the title?”

Whatever was happening was weird, but somehow, she was enjoying this abnormal exchange.

“People don’t call me Lady Tarkin outside of galas and cotillions,” she told him, annoyed that he knew it bothered her yet struggling to hide a smile.  “Unless they want something, of course.”

She locked eyes with him, keeping her face as neutral as possible.  His blue was so pale, a stark contrast when compared to her nearly navy color.

“So, what is it, General Hux?”  She continued, putting emphasis on his name.  “What do you want?”

After spending years socializing with people desperate for the smallest bit of information to use against her family, she knew answering a question with another question not only was the best way to play these kinds of games but also the best way to learn her opponent.

The General smiled at her again.  It was crooked, almost like he was smirking at her—not necessarily the friendliest one she had ever seen, but pleasant nonetheless.

“We’ll just have to wait and see, Lieutenant Tarkin.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kind of decided that all of the major Empire families had this secret high society to stay in touch and plot their return, which I kind of mentioned in the last chapter. I'm sure a lot of them were convicted as war criminals, and I think if Grand Moff Tarkin had any more direct family other than Garoche who died sometime before the orignial trilogy, they probably would be closely watched by the New Republic and most likely stripped of power. But since this is my version, things are a bit different. I've made up another son, who is the grandfather with the birthday party I mentioned in the last chapter, and he stays as the ruler of Eriadu after the fall of the Empire. I'll get into more depth eventually (pretend there are many winky faces here since I don't feel like copy and pasting emojis).
> 
> Just an fyi, I've planned for the chapters to be much longer than this, but I just kind of died out of ideas on this one. Sorry I took forever to write this, I'll have the next chapter up soon. Thanks for reading!!!


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